Dorothy: [00:00:00] Let’s Talk About Your Breast, a different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose, a breast center of excellence, and a Texas treasure. You’re gonna hear frank discussions about tough topics, and you’re gonna learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
So I wanna tell you a story and talk to you about a very special campaign we have going on right now. The story starts with, I was at lunch with our Anonymous Donor and I was telling her about the waiting list we had of uninsured women who were waiting for an appointment. But as always, our funding was very erratic right at this time. And I was asking her to look at our midyear appeal. This was something we had worked up and we were gonna mail it out to all of our donors and our supporters. And you know, I, I was really [00:01:00] frustrated. I was really worried about all of these women waiting on an appointment and knowing that they could have something going on, and knowing that we didn’t have a, a way to, to fix it.
So she told me what she liked about our flyer and what she didn’t like, and then she stopped and she turned, and she looked at me for the longest time, and then she started her next sentence with what if. And after that she proceeded to lay out this plan of her providing a gift of a hundred thousand dollars. And she said our job was to match it. She said, would that make a difference? And I said, oh my gosh, yes. So I sat there, you know, going, I was just stunned and I, and I didn’t go to that lunch with any intention. I, this is a woman who’s become very special to me and I just love being with her [00:02:00] because she’s so interesting and has all these different stories to tell.
And you know, for the last eight years she has showered us with so many gifts and blessings. She covered three of our mobile coaches, helped us start a new program, and during COVID, she stepped right up to help us with our salaries for our employees. So, you know, she’s been more than generous to us, but that day she said something else that really struck me.
She said, you know, Dorothy, most people don’t know what it’s like to not have enough. She said, I’m lucky. I’ve traveled all around the world, but my travels take me to the back roads, not not those tourist sites. And she said, I’ve seen the poorest of the poor. I’ve seen what happens when people don’t have enough, and especially what happens to women now.
You know, with all of her rural travels and all of the help, she’s provided people abroad, she [00:03:00] still makes it a point to care for her community and to help women. And to find ways to bring new programs to women. You know, we all know women aren’t in need just on the other side of the globe. They’re in need right here. And at The Rose. We see them every day. These are women who come from all walks of life. They could be the cashier at the store or the waitress that served you last night, or the daycare worker. These are women who simply don’t have insurance. Are there women who have lost their jobs and lost their insurance, or women who have had a extraordinary life change come in and that they got a divorce and suddenly they don’t have insurance?
All different kinds of stories and you know, the woman that doesn’t have insurance may not be the one we expect it to be. If you’ve been listening to our podcast, then you’ve [00:04:00] heard many of the stories of our sponsored women and we, we call this sponsored simply because these women are being sponsored by a gift from someone. It might be a grant, it might be an individual, but their services are being sponsored. And so many of the women that have shared their personal stories have really been eyeopening. You know, more than one of these patients who we’ve sponsored. During the most difficult time of their life has pledged to help us to come back when they are on their feet again and to raise money for The Rose.
And it is truly amazing to me how many have kept that promise. How many have come back years later, and they became a donor, they held a fundraiser, they did something to help a woman who was at the same place in the same need as they were years ago. [00:05:00] Every nonprofit depends on the generosity of people. Every nonprofit can’t do it without that, they can’t meet their mission. The Rose is no different.
So now I’m turning to you, our Rose community, because I know you know what we’re doing and I know you believe like we do, that no one should lose their life simply because they can’t afford to have a mammogram. I really know and hope we can count on you at this time. We only have a couple of days left for our, our campaign. One of the things that the Anonymous Donor said, let’s try to get this all done by July 31st, and I said, oh, all right. We’ll try to get it done. But we can, we will, with your help, just imagine how many more women will serve your, your donation is gonna be matched dollar for dollar.
You know it’s gonna be doubled. I, I, I am so [00:06:00] excited to see who has already stepped up, and we just need a few more to join in this time with us to make sure that all of the women on our waiting list are taken care of. So if you wanna be part of the solution, if you wanna help, then go to our website, find the Donate Here button. And click it and whatever amount, it doesn’t matter. It’ll be doubled and we would so appreciate your help. Thank you for being part of The Rose’s family and part of our community.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference [00:07:00] to a person in need. And remember, self-care is not selfish. It’s essential.
